Big Yellow Taxi

"Big Yellow Taxi" is a song written, composed, and originally recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell in 1970, and originally released on her album Ladies of the Canyon. It was a hit in her native Canada (No. 14) as well as Australia (No. 6) and the UK (No. 11). It only reached No. 67 in the US in 1970, but was later a bigger hit there for her in a live version released in 1974,[3][4] which peaked at No. 24. Charting versions have also been recorded by the Neighborhood (who had the original top US 40 hit with the track in 1970, peaking at No. 29), Maire Brennan, Amy Grant, Bob Dylan, and Counting Crows. The song was also sampled in Janet Jackson's "Got 'til It's Gone" (1997).

"Big Yellow Taxi"
Side A of 1970 Canadian single
Single by Joni Mitchell
from the album Ladies of the Canyon
B-side"Woodstock"
ReleasedApril 1970
Recorded1970
Genre
Length2:16
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)Joni Mitchell
Producer(s)Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell singles chronology
"Big Yellow Taxi"
(1970)		 "Carey"
(1971)

Mitchell's composition and recording
Joni Mitchell (pictured in 1974) wrote and recorded the song "Big Yellow Taxi".

In 1996, speaking to journalist Robert Hilburn, Mitchell said this about writing the song:

I wrote 'Big Yellow Taxi' on my first trip to Hawaii. I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart... this blight on paradise. That's when I sat down and wrote the song.[5]

The song is known for its environmental concern – "They paved paradise to put up a parking lot" and "Hey farmer, farmer, put away that DDT now" – and sentimental sound. The line "They took all the trees, and put 'em in a tree museum / And charged the people a dollar and a half just to see 'em" refers to Foster Botanical Garden in downtown Honolulu, which is a living museum of tropical plants, some rare and endangered.[6]

In the song's final verse, the political gives way to the personal. Mitchell recounts the departure of her "old man" in the eponymous "big yellow taxi", which may refer to the old Metro Toronto Police patrol cars, which until 1986 were painted yellow.[7] In many covers the departed one may be interpreted as variously a boyfriend, a husband or a father. The literal interpretation is that he is walking out on the singer by taking a taxi; otherwise it is assumed he is being taken away by the authorities.

Mitchell's original recording was first released as a single and then, as stated above, included on her 1970 album Ladies of the Canyon. A later live version was released in 1974 (1975 in France and Spain) and reached No. 24 on the U.S. charts. Billboard regarded the live version as "more full of life" than any of the singles Mitchell released in a long time.[8]

Mitchell's playful closing vocals have made the song one of the most identifiable in her repertoire, still receiving significant airplay in Canada. In 2005, it was voted No. 9 on CBC's list of the top 50 essential Canadian tracks.

In 2007, Joni Mitchell released the album Shine, which includes a newly recorded, rearranged version of the song.

Lyrics variations

There are various slight alterations of the lyrics from different versions. Joni Mitchell's original version runs:

They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
Then they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em

whereas in Amy Grant's version, the people are charged "twenty-five bucks", and in Mitchell's own 2007 re-recording, the people are charged "an arm and a leg". British musician Wally Whyton also recorded the song in 1971, changing the price to "one pound fifty" as well as changing "people" to "punters".

Bob Dylan, instead of singing about the "big yellow taxi" that "took away my old man", sings, "A big yellow bulldozer took away the house and land." Similarly, in Mitchell's live version of the song released on Miles of Aisles in 1974, she sings about "a big yellow tractor" that "pushed around my house, pushed around my land". She then repeats the same verse, but with the original lyrics. While Amy Grant retains the taxi, her final reprise of the line about "paved paradise" reads "steam rolled paradise".

On Counting Crows's 2002 cover version, lead singer Adam Duritz sings "took my girl away" in place of "took away my old man".

Music video

An animated music video of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" was produced by John Wilson of Fine Arts Films as an animated short for the Sonny and Cher television show in the mid-1970s. The only commercial release of this full-length music video was in the Video Gems home video release on VHS titled John Wilson's Mini Musicals, also released as The All Electric Music Movie. The home video also contains an animated music video of Mitchell's song "Both Sides, Now".

Track listing
  1. "Big Yellow Taxi" (Radio Mix)
  2. "Big Yellow Taxi" ("Friends" Album Version)
  3. "Big Yellow Taxi" (Late Night Club Mix)
  4. "Big Yellow Taxi" (N.Y. Cab To Club Mix)
  5. "Big Yellow Taxi" (Double Espresso NRG Mix)
  6. "Big Yellow Taxi" (Tribal Dub)
  7. "Big Yellow Taxi" (Original A Cappella with Guitar)

Charts
Chart (1970) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 6
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 14
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 19
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 11
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 67
US Billboard Easy Listening[12] 33
Chart (1974–75) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 24
US Billboard Easy Listening[12] 27
Chart (1996) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 39

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Silver 200,000

sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Máire "Moya" Brennan version
"Big Yellow Taxi"
Single by Máire Brennan
from the album Misty Eyed Adventures
Released1993
Label
Songwriter(s)Joni Mitchell
Producer(s)
Máire Brennan singles chronology
"Jealous Heart"
(1992)		 "Big Yellow Taxi"
(1993)		 "You're the One"
(1995)

In 1993, Máire "Moya" Brennan covered the song.

Track listing
  1. "Big Yellow Taxi"
  2. "Days Of The Dancing"
  3. "Dream On"

Amy Grant version
"Big Yellow Taxi"
Single by Amy Grant
from the album House of Love
ReleasedMay 1994
Genre
Length3:01
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Joni Mitchell
Producer(s)Keith Thomas
Amy Grant singles chronology
"Say You'll Be Mine"
(1994)		 "Big Yellow Taxi"
(1994)		 "Oh How the Years Go By"
(1995)

In 1995, American singer Amy Grant released a cover of "Big Yellow Taxi" to pop and adult contemporary radio in the United States and United Kingdom. The song was the fourth (third in the US) pop radio single from her 1994 album, House of Love. Grant's version featured slightly altered lyrics, which she changed at Joni Mitchell's request.[14]

The cover peaked at No. 67 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 25 in Canada, No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart, and No. 4 in Iceland. Grant also released a music video for the single, which was aired in the US and UK and released to home video on Grant's Greatest Videos 1986-2004 DVD. Grant also performed the song for her 2006 concert album, Time Again... Amy Grant Live.

Track listing
  1. "Big Yellow Taxi" (Paradise Mix)
  2. "Big Yellow Taxi" (Alternative Paradise Mix)
  3. "Big Yellow Taxi" (LP Version)

Weekly charts
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] 25
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[16] 4
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[17] 67
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[18] 4
Scotland (OCC)[19] 17
UK Singles (OCC)[20] 20
US Billboard Hot 100[21] 67
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[22] 18
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[23] 28

Year-end charts
Chart (1994) Position
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[24] 47
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[25] 96

Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton version
"Big Yellow Taxi"
Single by Counting Crows featuring Vanessa Carlton
from the album Hard Candy
ReleasedJanuary 14, 2003
Recorded2002
GenrePop rock
Length3:47
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)Joni Mitchell
Producer(s)Steve Lilywhite
Counting Crows singles chronology
"Miami"
(2002)		 "Big Yellow Taxi"
(2003)		 "If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead)"
(2003)

In 2002, Counting Crows covered the song with backing vocals by Vanessa Carlton. It was featured on the soundtrack to the film Two Weeks Notice and is the most successful version of the song to date (U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40). The single was certified Gold on 25 October 2004 by the Recording Industry Association of America.[26] Originally, the song was a hidden track on the band's 2002 album Hard Candy, and it did not include Carlton until it was to be featured in the film. New releases of the album included it as a track with her added, as with her in the video (which was shot on Coney Island, Brooklyn, and in nearby Bensonhurst), although Counting Crows and Carlton neither appeared in the video together nor recorded together. This song became the band's only Top 20 single in the UK, peaking at No. 13. This version slightly changed Mitchell's original lyrics to describe when the eponymous taxi "took my girl away", instead of Mitchell's "took away my old man". The original version of the song without Vanessa was included on the album Nolee Mix, which was released to promote the My Scene dolls.

The Village Voice named this cover the worst song of the 2000s,[27] and the Village Voice's scathing review of the cover is archived on Joni Mitchell's website.[28] The review derided the cover as having paved paradise (Mitchell’s original song) and put up a parking lot.

Adam, we don't know if you misunderstood the song's anti-globalization, anti-industrialization, anti-corporation message, or just chose to ignore it so you could get free Frappucinos for life. But we're gonna hip you to a harsh reality. Seriously, you know the line about how they "paved paradise and put up a parking lot?" Like how they replaced something beautiful with something cold and heartless and commercial? That's you. You're the parking lot, motherfucker. You drove your shitty steamroller over something everyone loved so you could pander your sensitive pussyhound whine to people waiting in line at the Carl's Jr. They paved Nirvana and put up a Counting Crow. Argh!

Additionally, NME also included this cover on its list of the worst songs of the 2000s,[29] and Ultimate Classic Rock highlighted this song in its Terrible Classic Rock Covers series.[30]

This song has started to get some airplay on a few classic hits stations, notably KFMD in Fayetteville.

Track listing
  1. "Big Yellow Taxi"
  2. "Big Yellow Taxi II"
  3. "If I Could Give All My Love"/"Richard Manuel Is Dead" (Acoustic / Live)
  4. "Hard Candy" (Acoustic / Live)
  5. "Big Yellow Taxi" (Multimedia Track)

Weekly charts
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[31] 3
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[32] 40
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[33] 33
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[34] 43
Germany (Official German Charts)[35] 67
Ireland (IRMA)[36] 7
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[37] 19
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[38] 23
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[39] 4
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[40] 23
Scotland (OCC)[41] 10
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[42] 55
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[43] 63
UK Singles (OCC)[44] 16
US Billboard Hot 100[45] 42
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[46] 2
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[47] 5
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[48] 5
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[49] 30

Year-end charts
Chart (2003) Position
Australia (ARIA)[50] 15
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[51] 93
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[52] 11
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[53] 183

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[54] Platinum 70,000^
United States (RIAA)[55] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Other cover versions

Many other artists have covered the song.

References
  1. Jason Hanley (26 November 2014). We Rock! (Music Lab): A Fun Family Guide for Exploring Rock Music History: From Elvis and the Beatles to Ray Charles and The Ramones, Includes Bios, Historical Context, Extensive Playlists, and Rocking Activities for the Whole Family!. Quarry Books. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-62788-220-0.
  2. Madelena Gonzalez (2005). Fiction After the Fatwa: Salman Rushdie and the Charm of Catastrophe. Rodopi. p. 191. ISBN 90-420-1962-X.
  3. "Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi 1974 release (photos)". discogs.com. Discog. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  4. "Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi 1974/1975 commercial release (photos)". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
  5. Hilburn, Robert (December 8, 1996). "Both Sides, Later". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA: Tribune Company. ISSN 0458-3035. OCLC 3638237. Retrieved May 19, 2012. With the release of two 'best of' albums, Joni Mitchell looks back at her hits--and misses--and the artistry that's earning renewed recognition.
  6. Mattison, Shane. "Tree museum". Lyric Glossary. JoniMitchell.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
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  12. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 166.
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